“I want you close,” I say in a raspy voice. “Please stay.”
She brushes my hair back from my forehead, and it eases the pain in my stomach. “I’m not going anywhere.”
My eyes are getting heavier. “I’m sorry about today.”
“What?” She sounds confused. “Why are you apologizing?”
“Ruined our spa day,” I mumble.
“Are you kidding?” Her fingers thread through my hair again. “This was one of the best days I’ve had in years. Until you tried to poison yourself, that is.”
“Really?” I force my eyes open to look at her, to see if I’m imagining this moment.
“Really.” She smiles softly.
“That kiss,” I say, my words getting fuzzier as the medicine drags me under. “Nothing could ever top that.”
“Well, what guy doesn’t like making out in a hot tub?”
“Only if it’s you. But next time, let’s skip the allergic-reaction part.”
She laughs. “I think the Benadryl is finally kicking in.”
“It’s not the meds.” I’m trying to explain something important here, but everything feels blurry, like I’m trying to focus my eyes underwater. “I’m trying to tell you something…”
“We can talk about what happened later.” She gives my hand asqueeze. “When you feel more like yourself and can remember things clearly.”
“It’s been over a decade, Scarlett.” I meet her eyes, even though she’s going fuzzy around the edges. “I know how I feel.”
I take a breath and say the words I should have said a dozen years ago. “I love you, Scarlett Rossi.”
Her eyes widen, and she shakes her head. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”
“I know exactly what I’m saying.” Everything else is fuzzy at the edges, but this is the clearest thing in the room. “And I mean every word.”
She’s quiet for a moment.
“Scarlett?” I mumble, my eyes closed.
“Yes, Bren?”
“You’re not saying anything back.”
There’s a pause. Too long, I think, or maybe my brain is just drifting into darkness.
“I just don’t know what to believe right now.” She rubs her thumb over my knuckles. “You’re sick and exhausted and full of antihistamines?—”
“It’s true though,” I interrupt. “I’ve spent the last twelve years loving you. And I won’t let myself go another day without telling you.”
“You’re clearly in no state to confess your love for me.”
“No, I’m in the perfect state. Being sick makes me totally uninhibited. Ask me anything.”
She pauses, then her eyes drop to my forearm.
She traces her finger over the rose. “Is that tattoo for your sister?”
I swallow, then shake my head.